Choosing eating and drinking equipment DLF Factsheet

Choosing eating and drinking equipment DLF Factsheet http://www.nrs-uk.co.uk Sponsored by © (2005) Disabled Living Foundation 1 Established in 1947 Nottingham Rehab Supplies are the market-leading provider of rehabilitation equipment and aids for daily living – promoting comfort and independence in and around the home. Our range features more than 2,000 products that are widely used in the healthcare market as well as a wide consumer customer base gained through the Ways & Means consumer catalogue. Each item in our range has been carefully selected to offer practical solutions to undertaking everyday tasks – making life easier and more enjoyable. You can order your FREE copy of the Ways & Means catalogue by calling 0845 606 0911, emailing customerservice@nrs-uk.co.uk, or writing to us at: Nottingham Rehab Supplies, Clinitron House, Excelsior Road, Ashby de la Zouch, Leics LE65 1JG See our new online catalogue at www.nrs-uk.co.uk © Disabled Living Foundation All rights reserved. No reproduction or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. Inclusion (including any display advertising) does not indicate that any item has been recommended or tested. All information is provided without legal responsibility. Disabled Living Foundation 380-384 Harrow Road London W9 2HU Tel: (020) 7289 6111 Fax: (020) 7266 2922 Helpline: 0845 130 9177 Textphone: 020 7432 8009 Email: advice@dlf.org Website: www.dlf.org.uk Reg. Charity No: 290069 VAT Reg. No: 226 9253 54 © (2005) Disabled Living Foundation 2 DLF Factsheet Contents Choosing eating and drinking equipment INTRODUCTION 4 WHERE TO GET HELP AND ADVICE 4 PRACTICALITIES 5 THE DINING ENVIRONMENT 5 WAYS TO ENCOURAGE INDEPENDENCE 6 ASSISTING WITH FEEDING 7 USE OF BIBS 7 DRINKING EQUIPMENT 8 DRINKING SYSTEMS 11 CUTLERY 11 PLATES, BOWLS AND FEEDING TRAYS 14 FEEDING SYSTEMS 15 USEFUL ORGANISATIONS 16 © (2005) Disabled Living Foundation 3 INTRODUCTION The aim of this factsheet is to provide `first stop` information on eating and drinking difficulties, and details of some of the more popular items of equipment that may provide solutions. For up-to-date product and supplier information, contact our equipment helpline which is open Monday to Friday, from 10am to 4pm - tel: 0845 130 9177 (calls charged at local rate); or if you use a textphone 020 7432 8009 (calls charged at standard rate). Alternatively, you can write to our letter enquiry service or contact us via e mail at advice@dlf.org.uk . To help us give you a concise and informative reply, please provide us with as much detail as possible including information on the difficulties you are having and any solutions you have considered, including equipment ideas. WHERE TO GET HELP AND ADVICE Before making any decisions about using or buying equipment, you may like to seek advice from an expert. A speech and language therapist can give advice if the feeding difficulties are caused through chewing and swallowing food or liquid. Most speech and language therapists work within NHS hospitals or clinics and can be contacted via your G.P. or health visitor, or you can contact your local service directly. An occupational therapist can advise on feeding and drinking techniques, and equipment to overcome various difficulties. © (2005) Disabled Living Foundation The therapist will assess you and work with you to find solutions, and can sometimes provide items of equipment on loan. Occupational therapists work in the NHS and for local authorities. If you are living at home and you are not currently receiving hospital treatment, you will need to contact the local authority occupational therapist who will be based within the social services department. You have the right if you have a disability, or if you are caring for someone with a disability, to ask social services for a community care assessment. The council assessor considers the type and level of need and appropriate community care solutions, including provision of equipment. Usually the council helps fund a community care service, including equipment, if you have many needs or if they assess them as essential or complex. Since April 2003, you have the choice and right to ask for a direct payment of money instead of a community care service; this includes the right to ask for money towards alternative equipment if this is preferred to the equipment offered by the council. A council is unlikely to help directly if needs are few or simple, but may advise on alterative ways of meeting the need, e.g. where you can buy equipment locally, visit a local independent living centre or obtain suitalble mail order catalogues. A Disabled Living Centre displays and demonstrates equipment, and employs 4 experienced staff to give advice to help choose equipment that will best meet your needs. There are approximately 50 centres around the country and the Disabled Living Centres Council can give you the address of the one nearest to you (see ‘Useful organisations’). There may be a support group for your condition which will be familiar with the types of difficulties that you are experiencing and can offer you advice. It may also be able to put you in contact with other people with similar difficulties so that you feel less isolated and can exchange experiences and ideas. Contact the DLF helpline for addresses. PRACTICALITIES Whilst it is essential to match the user`s personal needs to items of equipment that are helpful, and which he/she like and want to use, there are some practical issues around choosing and using equipment that you should to think about. Consider: whether cutlery and crockery items can be washed in a dishwasher; whether parts are easy or fiddly to clean, e.g. drinking spouts; suitability for microwave use, if meals and drinks are prepared earlier and will need reheating; if the system is modular, think about the ease or difficulty of assembly, particularly if the parts need to be dismantled before washing; © (2005) Disabled Living Foundation how robust items are if they are likely to be subjected to heavy handling. THE DINING ENVIRONMENT Eating a good and balanced diet is essential to our health and wellbeing, but sitting down to a family or group meal also provides us with an opportunity to socialise. And, since enjoying good food and pleasant company contributes to our psychological wellbeing, group or family mealtimes should be encouraged. Sometimes, particularly if the task of eating is very messy and personal dignity is at stake, the diner may choose to eat alone, with help at hand, if necessary. People who live alone obviously have no choice but to eat alone; and the task of preparing a meal will invariably fall on them. If cooking is no longer a safe or practical task, contact your local social service department for information on meals on wheels services and/or local dining clubs. To optimise independence, the dining area should be close to the kitchen so that transferring the prepared food to the eating area and clearing away is made as easy as possible. Think about: using a one-handed or slip-resistant tray, or a walking trolley to transfer food to the table; 5 ... - tailieumienphi.vn